Regular brushing of the teeth with a toothbrush is the primary oral care regimen leading to sustained good health in the oral cavity. It is well known that bacteria that collect in tartar and plaque at the tooth surfaces leads to the production of dental caries or cavities. Regular brushing reduces the incidence of caries by sweeping away plaque, thereby reducing sites of bacterial growth on the teeth.
Conventional toothbrushes do a poor job of removing plaque at or below the gum line. It is well known that one of the primary sites for caries formation is at that portion of the tooth behind the gingival sulcus, i.e., the pocket or groove formed from the apparent gum line to the point where the gums or gingiva attach to the teeth. Accordingly, it would be expected that a toothbrush that permits subgingival access, i.e., access to regions below the gum line, would be expected to be especially effective at reducing subgingival caries. Unfortunately, it has been heretofore difficult to achieve a toothbrush that provides good subgingival access while being gentle to the gums and to the other soft tissue in the oral cavity.
It is an object of the invention to provide a toothbrush that provides good subgingival access to aid in reducing the incidence of cavities near or behind the gum line.
It is another object of the invention to provide a toothbrush that is gentle to the gums and the soft tissue in the oral cavity.
It is another object of the invention to provide a toothbrush that provides good subgingival access while being gentle to the oral soft tissue.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a process for making the toothbrushes of the invention.